Showing results by narrator "Christopher Weeks" in All Categories

Finding happiness is less about learning new tricks and more about unlearning ways of thinking holding you back: Stop chasing happiness, stop obsessing over what others think, stop caring too much about how you feel, stop making sacrifices for personal success. Here, academic and philosopher Frank Martela unpacks why we value happiness, and why chasing it is actually making you miserable.

Mike Gray is still reeling from the sudden death of his father when he inherits Willow House, his father’s childhood home. Keen to move out of the city, Mike decides to move his young family to the small, quaint town of Fairview. But not all is right at Willow House. There are dark forces at work, which threaten to destroy what remains of the Gray family. The curse at the heart of Willow House has lain dormant for decades, but is about to be reawakened and unleashed. 

Michelle will never get tired of the view from her office window. Jagged mountains—and the wintry streets of Reykjavik, Iceland. It's a perk of her new job at Kimia Pharmaceuticals. Her old life—a dreary 9-to-5 and a cheating ex back in London—already feels a million miles away. Still, there's something strange about Michelle's new colleagues. They're all young, beautiful . . . and aloof. But then Michelle meets Lars, a jittery researcher from the restricted upper floors. She thinks she's alone in the elevator, until he squeezes between the doors. Just in time. 

The year is 1942. Britain is in the grip of the Second World War, bringing blackout conditions to much of the country. For several years, Briarwych Church has remained locked and unused. Arriving to take up his new position, Father Lionel Loveford's first task is to open the great wooden door and get the church back into use. But something lurks in the shadows. A terrible tragedy once took place in Briarwych, and now the locals live in fear of a vengeful spirit that has sometimes been spotted looking out from the church's windows.

As end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realisation that the dinosaurs had been wiped out by just such an impact. Now the science community is making up for lost time, with worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object from a collision course - a procedure depicted in several Hollywood movies.

Hero of Jutland, Kelly Maguire progresses rapidly through the ranks during the dangerous post-war years, despite the government’s decision to cut down the navy. He eventually finds himself in Russia during the civil war, when the navy manned armoured trains to rescue thousands of terrified White Army men, beset on all sides by disease and the rampaging Red Army. 

Confident and strong willed, Kelly Maguire knew from a young age that he could accomplish great things. A constant and abiding love of the ocean would prove to be the making of him. When the call of war is heard in the early 1910s, Kelly knows that he must answer it. Enlisting in the Royal Navy, he hopes to win both the war and personal glory. But from the barbarous battles of Gallipoli to the nightmarish action at Antwerp, Kelly, along with his young shipmates, begins to learn the trials a sailor must face, trials that will forge him from a boy into a man.

Peacetime political manoeuvrings are threatening Kelly Maguire’s ambitions for captain’s rank. But the outbreak of war and the need for those who are willing to risk everything, changes all that. As World War II explodes around him and after a devastating loss in the Battle of Narvik, Maguire finds himself washed up at Dunkirk during the perilous evacuation of 1940. Once more he must prove his worth.

Sent to Earth to explore, survey, collect samples and report back to its makers, an alien probe arrives in the middle of a warzone. Witnessing both the best and worst of humanity, the AI probe faces situations that go far beyond the parameters of its programming and is forced to improvise, making decisions that have repercussions for the future of our entire world.

When Harry Hodson disappears into the Brazilian rainforest, his brother, Charles, sets off to help in the search. Charles, an investigative journalist accustomed to digging for the truth, does not find Harry, but instead uncovers evidence that a Brazilian mining company may be implicated in his disappearance. Charles suspects that the existence of a large deposit of falconite - which could be the magic bullet in the battle against global warming - may be at the centre of this mystery.

Daniel had the perfect life: a beautiful girlfriend, a great job, a lovely home. But twenty years ago he witnessed something he never should have seen. And now he’s plagued by memories of that night. The frightened scream. The splash of something heavy hitting the water. His friend being murdered by his father. It returns again and again and it’s driving him slowly mad. Now he’s lost his girlfriend, his job and his flat. To get his life back on track, he needs to find out what really happened that night.

This is the end of us all. For Hayden and Grace, the threat of war has become a reality. The world is running out of resources, driving the survivors to drastic, inhuman measures. Blackwing is the obvious target, and physical attacks from enemies are accompanied by the devastating mental turmoil that cannot be fought off with weapons. This is life impacted by war with enemies, allies and oneself. Now, not much is certain, but a few things are guaranteed: there will be pain. There will be death. There will be annihilation. 

You fight, you kill, you steal, you lie...or you die. As war breaks out between Blackwing and Greystone, Grace's allegiance becomes clear. But that doesn't make her task any easier. Hayden knows that war is coming. That these raids are just the beginning, and there is something else coming for them. But can he save his camp and free himself at the same time? Welcome to the revolution. 

Don't look back. That's where the danger lies. With Grace left reeling from choosing between Hayden and her family, she knows she needs to accept her decision. Meanwhile, as the youngest leader of Blackwing, Hayden is coping with the demands placed on him to keep the camp alive. Can he protect his friends from their violent rivals? And should he trust himself to do the right thing? Demand loyalty. Protect your family. Trust no one.

The world is different now. There are no rules, no governments, and no guarantees that you'll be saved. Rival factions have taken over, fighting each other for survival with no loyalty to anyone but their own. At 21, Hayden has taken over Blackwing and is one of the youngest leaders in the area. In protecting his camp from starvation, raids from other factions and the threat of being kidnapped, he has enough to worry about before he finds Grace. The daughter of the head of the rival camp Greystone, she is slow to trust anyone, much less the leader of those she has been trained to kill.